Harvesting roses

I forgot what a treat it is to have roses to cut and arrange on a whim. They make the house so cheery!

Celebrating a new tree

A new tree is always cause for celebration here, even though our reason this time is bittersweet. An ash tree that was here when we moved in succumbed to ash borers. It's always sad to lose a tree, but we chose a beautiful lacebark elm (Siberian Elm) to replace it. Because the trunk has a crook in it, and some damage from deer, we got a great deal, but the tree farm planted the tree for us and assured us the elm would survive both flaws. We think it has great character because of those flaws. Here's a before-during-after shot. (As always, click on the photo to enlarge.)
Moments after I first posted, I looked out to see that a fat robin had adopted our tree. Doesn't he look pretty perched there?

Paws and claws in the garden

Biscuit strikes a pose on the deck, and Sundae soaks up some lovin' from her favorite girl. The cats will miss our daughter almost as much as we will when she heads off to college this fall.

Roses in bloom!

UPDATE: The roses are in full bloom...hundreds of them, pink and yellow! And this is the first year they've reached the top of the arbor.


Roses are blooming like mad. This is the yellow rosebush the nursery gave my husband three years ago because they thought it was dead. It's doing better than the one we bought and planted on the other side of the arbor. It will soon be in bloom too. The bright pink Neon Star Dianthus is perfect in a broken pot at the foot of the rose arbor.

The hills are alive!

With color! Rock Garden Hill, that is. The Sedum is blooming, along with the last blush of Columbine, and a lavender mist of Speedwell. Absolutely gorgeous! And it's only May.

A crayon box of color!

May 11, and the garden is a crayon box of colors! Suddenly everything is in bloom and growing faster than we could have imagined. We cut the shrubs back hard this year and they apparently did not get the memo! ;) The colorful daisy-like flowers in the large pot are Gazanias. The blooms are stunning, but the foliage looks a bit too much like a dandelion for our taste.